Page 37 of The Hidden Falling
“What do you know of Rogures?” I ask, instead of calling her out on her bullshit. For now. Being out here, I would be surprised if she knew how the rest of Vrohkaria suffers while she stays with her pack in their own little oasis. The thought quickly angers me.
“I know of them,” she says slowly. “We have had some come here into the forest. We got rid of them, but the sightings have increased over the last year.” She shakes her head and stops to look at me. Bright, innocent eyes hold mine. “Where did they even come from?”
“No one knows. That’s another reason we are in The Deadlands. We’re looking for rogure dens as well as this missing woman. We have no idea where they came from and neither do the Highers.” She looks away. “I’ve been taking my Elites all over Vrohkaria to different parts of the lands to try and find their original den or find a way to stop them. All we know is that they are plaguing the lands, killing and mauling anything in their sight with no sign of slowing down.
“I hate them,” she mutters. “They destroy everything.” Sadness flashes across her face quickly before it’s gone. “I can tell you I haven’t seen any dens in The Deadlands in all the years I’ve lived here though.”
“All the years you’ve lived here? I thought you have always been here?” I question, looking at her dead in the eyes.
“I have,” she waves her hand at me. “I just meant since I’ve been alive.”
Hmm. “What about your parents? Have they seen any dens before? Where are they anyway?”
“The only family I have left is the one I choose,” she says coldly, all emotion gone from her face, and my brows furrow. “No one alive in Eridian has seen any rogure dens. We are thorough in checking our perimeter for them. Many years back, a pack of them came into the valley and killed many of us. Since then, we have taken no chances. Some appeared a few months ago, but there were only a few of them, their pack small. We don’t know where they came from, and we haven’t seen any since.”
We stop, and I fold my arms over my chest, ignoring the way her gaze moves to my arms. “I’m surprised they have even been this deep into The Deadlands. We never see any come out of there, and you clearly don’t see many come in here. How nice it must be to stay away from the lands that are being plagued by them. Living your life out here peacefully while others suffer and die.”
“You think we don’t suffer?” she hisses at me, eyes narrowed as her anger takes over, and mine rises to the challenge. “You don’t know the fucking meaning!”
I scoff at her, looking her over like the unimportant bitch she is. “So, you think you can be attacked here a few times by Rogures and think that’s suffering?” My hand whips out, and I grab her by the jaw, digging my fingers into her skin. She winces, but otherwise doesn’t make a single sound. That just pisses me off more. “Do you hear babes being ripped from their mothers’ arms? Mauled alive while their mother tries and fails to save them? Do you hear the screams of people running for their lives, only to be hunted down and ripped apart?” I shake her chin. “You live here in your own little paradise, peacefully passing the fucking time while the whole of Vrohkaria is out there suffering every fucking day! Do you know the number of people that could have been saved if you had declared to the Highers where you fucking live!”
I growl at her before raising my other hand pushing her chest. She falls to the floor, landing on her ass as I tower over her. “What—”
“Many could have been saved and been brought here if you weren’t such a selfish bitch, keeping Eridian to yourself,” I cut her off, and hurt flashes through her eyes at my words. good. “Hundreds could have lived here happily instead of rotting in the ground. More deaths are on your soul it seems than just my trainees.” Her hands clench at her sides. “When we leave here, I’ll be taking you to the Highers, and you will tell them about this place. You will stand there, in front of them all and the public who join, and you will tell them how you kept a safe haven hidden from everyone when you could have helped your own people!”
Helped my fucking family.
Her eyes flash up at me, her jaw clenched, but she doesn’t utter a single word. I look at her in disgust and turn my back on her before I kill her too soon. I walk away from her while Drax nudges me to go back, but he can fuck off. The more I think about her not declaring this place to the Highers, the more I want to tear the whole fucking valley apart. The number of people that could have lived here, that could have been kept safe inside the barrier while we try to search for a way to stop the Rogures… It would be invaluable, and she just kept it to herself. Not caring about the rest of Vrohkaria wasting away and dying. It’s people like her that are the fucking problem. Selfish, self-important and only looking out for themselves while leaving the rest of us to rot. She will soon be in shock when we get back home. Her whole life is about to change.
Eridian is soon going to be overrun by people, and there is not a damn thing she can do about it but sit back and watch her home be taken over.
All the while, she will be left in my hands to be dealt with as punishment for murdering my men.
Twenty
Rhea
“Fuckingasshole,”Imutteras I get to my feet and stomp after him. We don’t suffer? Every member of my pack has suffered one way or another. He can see it clearly in some of their faces, for fuck’s sake. All I have ever done is help other people survive, my family included, and he calls me selfish! The audacity of this overgrown babysitter. He can go fuck himself if he thinks the Highers are getting their grubby hands on Eridian.
I won’t tell them shit.
I pick up speed, growling beneath my breath and clenching my fists at my sides as I follow in the direction he went. I finally spot him up ahead a good distance away, his broad shoulders tense with every heavy step he takes.
I look down at the forest floor and pick up a small rock, tossing it in the air a few times and feeling the rough edges before I take my aim. I bring my arm back and power it forward with an extra boost from Runa. I watch as it soars through the air, flying perfectly to hit its target. Yes! Sebastian teaching me how to throw knives at targets on the trees has really paid off.
I’m so busy basking in my smugness at hitting Darius between his shoulder blades, the same spot he pinned me by to the tree earlier, that I don’t actually notice how still he’s gone. It’s only when I see him turn his head slowly to the right, that I realize that’s the only part of his body moving. There’s not a twitch of his fingers or the rise and fall of his shoulders, like he’s not even breathing.
I may have just made a wrong move.
I bite the inside of my lower lip as he turns slowly, so slowly, until he’s eventually facing me. He looks down toward the forest floor, to where the stone now rests and tilts his head at it in an animalistic way. His dark hair hangs just above his eyes. I freeze at the way he looks at it, and a stillness surrounds us. My heart rate picks up, my palms start to sweat, and when he finally lifts his head to look at me, my eyes widen, a gasp leaving me as I look into his eyes. His pure black eyes where the whites should be. His larger green pupils glow as he stares straight back at me with an intensity I feel down to my soul. I take a small step back at the sight of him, the shock of him, but he follows, taking a step toward me.
I pause, and he stops.
Darius’ wolf watches my every move, head still tilted, body still tense, ready and waiting to get to its prey. His nostrils flare, and then he releases a deep, low growl that pins me in place. My body shivers at the sound, and Runa looks out of my eyes, watching him with me. She whines softly, and looks over at the male that is now releasing dominance freely, no longer holding it back. Runa bristles as it hits us and tries to get me to release ours, but that would be poking the very angry wolf, and I do not want to do that right now. We may be strong, but Darius and his wolf are also pure Alpha, pure power. To be able to hold and control the change, but still work as one together completely… His eyes confirm it, and there is only one explanation as to why he can do that. One I don’t want to even think about right now as I face an extremely furious male.
I stay as still as possible, watching him watch me as his scent drifts toward me stronger than ever. Cedarwood, damp earth that comes with the aftermath of a thunderstorm, and power. Pure fucking power that wants me to kneel before him and bow in his presence. My legs begin to shake, but I lock them, refusing to bend.
He takes slow, measured steps toward me, stalking me like a hunter would his prey. His muscular body moves with intense precision, his steps silent even as I feel the ground tremble with every step he takes toward me. The trees nearby vibrate with the power he’s giving off, and I swallow, unsure what to do here. My body trembles as Runa keeps fighting me to release my hold on my dominance that I refuse to let loose, and I have only one instinctual thing left on my mind.
